Amazon must have a good reason for tolerating the counterfeits for this long. My hunch is that they hope to use it as leverage to get brands to use them as thei

Amazon must have a good reason for tolerating the counterfeits for this long. My hunch is that they hope to use it as leverage to get brands to use them as their exclusive online sales channel. The brands know these counterfeit products are hurting their image. Most consumers think that the junk that they receive from Amazon is authentic (especially when sold by a 3rd-party with a similar name). One long-term challenge for Amazon will be not becoming a flea market of low-grade, generic ‘stuff’. Brands want to cut the middle-man and sell direct. You see similar things happening with big media: studios don’t want to have someone else distribute their experience. Plus, they don’t want to lose having direct access to their customers. But, without the brands, what will Amazon sell?